“A zany, ‘improbable’ comedy of murder, chocolate and a night on the Embankment in 1890s London”, “still rolling in the aisles, and deservedly so”….. Our end-of-November production is an adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s melodramatic short story concerning the forthcoming marriage of Lord Arthur, and his unexpected need to commit a murder.
Think along the lines of The Importance of Being Earnest, with lots of fun involved. We need five men and five women for the cast. A good mix of ages required:
- Baines, Lord Arthur’s butler – meticulous, gloomy, lugubrious, with some wonderful moments. A cracking part!
- Lord Arthur – ‘not overburdened with brains’, likeable, young and pleasant
- Sybil Merton, his fiancee – young, lovely and charming
- Lady Julia, Sybil’s mother. She is another Lady Bracknell. Enough said!
- Mr Podgers, Cheiromantist (palm-reader) – sinister, darkly threatening, but with charm. Two good scenes
- Lady Windermere, Arthur’s aunt – frills, frocks and frivolity. Society woman of a certain age. An archetypal Wildean society woman. Lovely part!
- Lady Clementina, Arthur’s great-aunt. Nutty as the proverbial fruitcake. A woman with an exciting past, and not an uneventful present, one imagines! Impressive comic character.
- Herr Winkelkopf, an anarchist – think Inspector Clouseau and you have it. An absolute gem of a part. Idiotic, incompetent, hilarious!
- Dean of Paddington, Arthur’s uncle – dotty cleric with rich comic moments. Wonderful cameo.
- Nellie, the maid – dutiful, a bit lonely, rather sweet on Baines, ends up taking part in the main action. Nice character cameo
Directed by John Davies, it will be a great play to be involved with, so do come along and see if you can land a part! If you’re interested but can’t make the date, then please contact us at marketing@penrithplayers.co.uk.